Background of the old and modern gold rush, distribution of ASGM worldwide in 77 countries, map of global mercury trade 2011, life cycle of ASGM activities (upstream, middle-stream, downstream), empirical cycle of the creation of ASGM hotspots, ASGM stakeholders, and the new mercury treaty.

1. Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining:
Yuyun Ismawati - yuyun@balifokus.asia
BaliFokus - Indonesia Toxics-Free Network
IPEN Lead for ASGM/Mining
IPEN International Toxic Metals Skillshare
Minamata, Japan
3rd-4th of October, 2013
Local

2. problems,

3. global

4. challenge

5. Outline
Gold rush 160 years ago and now
ASGM distribution, characteristics and
actors
General impacts
ASGM in mercury treaty and your role

6. Gold Rush Legacy 1800s
Australia
About 400,000
metric tonnes
mercury released
to the
environment

7. Gold Rush Legacy 1800s
California, USA
The mercury legacy in the red spots
remained as big problems for
communities, especially the
Indigenous Peoples - the native
American Indians

8. Gold Rush Legacy 1980s
Serra Pelada, Brazil
Mined by 100,000 people in 6 years

9. Gold Rush Legacy 1980s
Serra Pelada, Brazil
Photos: Bernadelli, 1983
About half billion USD worth gold was mined released about 100-150 metric tonnes of mercury

10. Gold Rush Legacy 1980s
Serra Pelada, Brazil
Closed in 1986, now becomes the most contaminated lake in Brazil

11. AP
tries
AP
77 ASGM countries
19 AP
countries
33 African
countries
19 LAC
countries
4 CEE
countries
2 North
American
countries
GOLD RUSH TODAY

12. Gold Rush in the 21st Century
• Social and environmental
production of suffering
• UNEP: example of ‘Green
Economy’
• 37% of the global emission (727
T/y in average)
• Employed 20 millions people
in impoverish communities, 1
million women and children
• Produced approx. 20-30% of
the global gold production - by
the end of 2013: 4000 T (China
India)
Source: UNEP, 2013 Tragic sets of circumstances similar to those of Minamata
disease could easily recur in our modern society.
We need to be aware of the dangers - Dr. Harada

13. Global mercury trade (2011)
http://www.zoinet.org/web/sites/default/files/publications/MercuryTradeMap2011.pdf

14. An empirical cycle of ASGM Practices
Time (year)
T
R
A
N
SI
TI
O
N
RD Trial / exercise Resources deployment Investment supply push Declining period Degradation/scavenging period
A B
ASGM Sites
•Govt. survey
•Research papers
•Traditional/local
knowledge
•Subsistence
economic
activity
•Individual
•Subsided
•Loans
•Experienced/
skilled miners
•Financiers
•Loan
•Simple
technology
•Risk taker/
entrepreneurial
mentality
•Encroaching
•Profit sharing
•Loose
employment
contract
•Environmental
problems
•Human rights
violation
•Exchange
information
•Learning by
doing
•Semi-industrial
•Vertical-
horizontal
conflicts
•Social-economic
dynamic
Declining Stage: “Scavenging Stage”
Supply pull
•Too many miners, too
little gold
•Contaminated sites and
abandoned mine shafts
too dangerous to live
with
•New regulation issued
by the authority
•New promising ASGM
sites found somewhere
else
Low quality
Production
accelerated
Early Stage:
“Conventional Exploration”
A
B
CRISIS
CRISIS
Later Stage: “Exploitation Stage”
Supply pushThe rate of
gold
Production
(T/y)
•Environmental, health
and socio-economic
problems worsened
•Alternative livelihood
available
•Better opportunity for
skilled/experienced
miners in new sites
Crisis
T
R
A
N
SI
TI
O
N
RD Trial /exercise Resources deployment Investment supply push Crisis
CRISIS
CRISIS
T
R
A
N
S
I
T
I
O
N
Ismawati, 2011

15. Capital Investor(s)
Equipment/production investor
Shaft/Hole
exploration
‘Expert’ UP-STREAM
(ORE MINING)
MIDDLE-STREAM
(ORE PROCESSING)
DOWN-STREAM
(METALLIC GOLD
AND END-SALE)
Crushing
Load/
unload
Supporting team (pumping
the air, fire, supplies, etc.)
Digging
Capital Investor(s)
Equipment/production
investor
Transporter
Ball-Mills Unit‘Expert’
Tailings
handling
Supporting team (generator
set up, diesel fuel supplies,
etc.)
Mixing, burning
amalgam (40-60%)
Fine Crusher
Unit
Cyanide Plant Unit‘Expert’
Intermediate
Gold buyer/
kiosk
Capital Investor(s)/
intermediaries/ gold
trader
Metallic gold
process
Gold shop/
jewelry shop
MERCURY
ADDED
Transporter
Rehabilitation
THE LIFE-CYCLE OF ASGM (ROCK/PRIMARY ORE
TYPE)
(Ismawati, 2011)
MERCURY
ADDED

16. The Life-Cycle Overview of ASGM Activities: Up-stream
Capital Investor(s)/financiers
Equipment/production investor
Crushing
Load/
unload
Supporting team (pumping the air,
fire, hg supplies, etc.)
Digging
Transporters
Shaft/Hole
exploration
‘Experts’
Sluice box/
panning
Boat/
compressor
mining
Hg Hg
Hg
MIDDLE-
STREAM
UP-STREAM
Hg

17. Up-Stream Level Actors
Capital Investor(s)/financiers
Equipment/production investor
Crushing
Load/
unload
Supporting team (pumping the air,
fire, hg supplies, etc.)
Digging
Transporters
Shaft/Hole
exploration
‘Experts’
Sluice box/
panning
Boat/
compressor
mining
Hg Hg
Hg
Hg
Financiers
Gold trader
Hg trader
Landowners
Local authorities Local leaders
‘Experts’
Brokers
Bosses
Miners
Helpers
Sellers
Hookers/sex workers
Transporters
Coolies
Drugs dealers
Security
Thugs
Health workers
Researchers Utilities suppliers
Opportunists
Anti-mining campaigners Development workers
Gate/portal keepers
Journalists
Repair/handyman

18. The Life-Cycle Overview of ASGM Activities: Middle-stream
Capital Investors/
financiers
Equipment/production
investor
Ball-Mills Unit‘Experts’
Tailings handling Mixing/burning
amalgam
Fine Crusher
Unit
MIDDLE-
STREAM
UP-STREAM
DOWN-
STREAM
Transporters
Coarse
Crusher Unit
Utilities (water/oil/
electricity) suppliers
Wastewater
management
Transporters
Gold 20-60%
Hg
Hg Hg Hg
Hg

19. Middle-Stream Level Actors
Capital Investors/
financiers
Equipment/production
investor
Ball-Mills Unit‘Experts’
Tailings handling Mixing/burning
amalgam
Fine Crusher
Unit
Transporters
Coarse
Crusher Unit
Utilities (water/oil/
electricity) suppliers
Wastewater
management
Transporters
Gold 20-60%
Hg
Hg Hg Hg
Hg
Hg traders/
smugglers
Landowners
Local authorities
Local leaders
Brokers
Bosses
Helpers
Sellers
Sex workers
Transporters
Coolies
Drugs dealers
Security
Researchers
Utilities suppliers
Development workers
Repair/handyman
Metal workshops
Gold shops
Gold trader
Financiers
Religious leaders/workers

20. The Life-Cycle Overview of ASGM Activities: Down-stream
UP-STREAM
DOWN-STREAM
Cyanide Plant‘Experts’
Intermediate Gold
buyer/kiosk
Capital Investor(s)/
intermediaries/ gold
trader
Metallic gold process
Gold shop/
jewellery shop
Transporter
MIDDLE-STREAM
Tailings/
contaminated
environment
Hg
Hg
Hg

21. DOWN-STREAM
Cyanide Plant‘Experts’
Intermediate Gold
buyer/kiosk
Capital Investor(s)/
intermediaries/ gold
trader
Metallic gold process
Gold shop/
jewellery shop
Transporter
Tailings/
contaminated
environment
Hg
Hg
Hg
Downstream-Stream Level Actors
Landowners
Local leaders
Chemicals
suppliers
Transporters
Coolies
Utilities suppliers
Development workers
Gold shops
Gold trader
Financiers
Conservations/forests researchers
Pimps
Helpers
UP-STREAM
Sex workers
Brokers

22. General Impacts of ASGM
Environmental
Sustainability
Traditional knowledge
and wisdom
Cultural practices and
identity
Natural resources
potential and heritage
[-] [+]
The right to live in a
healthy environment
Jobs (to die for)
Ripple economy
effect (vs rip-off
effects)
Local economic
development
Wealth/rich
‘Green economy’
New research
findings
Environmental
degradation
Threats for existing
livelihood
Uncontrolled migration/
movement of hg and
gold
‘Unknown diseases’,
genocides
Social, cultural, and
physical conflicts
Material world/
corruptions
Ghost towns
Lethal livelihood
Modern/economic
slavery

23. Mercury poisoning in ASGM areas
Non exposed
group
Low exposed
group
Medium
exposed group
High exposed
group
Total
number
Philippines 1999 37 106 50 39 232
Indonesia -
Kalimantan 2003
0 67 31 70 168
Indonesia -
Sulawesi 2003
21 17 22 62 122
Tanzania 2003 31 50 34 103 218
Zimbabwe 2004 36 22 18 117 193
Zimbabwe 2006 43 54 13 13 123
Mongolia 41 92 13 50 196
Total 209 408 181 454 1252
Source: Bose-O’Reilly, 2013

24. Mercury intoxication in ASGM areas
Typical symptoms (ataxia,
coordination problems, tremor)
+
High mercury levels in human
specimens
=
Chronic mercury intoxication
Drasch G, The Mt. Diwata study on the Philippines 1999--assessing mercury
intoxication of the population by small scale gold mining. Sci Total Environ
2001
Bose-O'Reilly S. Health assessment of artisanal gold miners in Indonesia. Sci
Total Environ 2010.
Bose-O'Reilly S. Health assessment of artisanal gold miners in Tanzania. Sci
Total Environ 2010.
Steckling N. Mercury exposure in female artisanal small-scale gold miners
(ASGM) in Mongolia: An analysis of human biomonitoring (HBM) data from
2008. Sci Total Environ 2011.
Source: Bose-O’Reilly, 2013

25. THE NIP, THE NAP, AND THE GAPS
• Art. 2 - definitions
• (k). Use allowed” means any use by a Party of mercury or
mercury compounds consistent with this Convention, including, but
not limited to, uses consistent with Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
• Art. 3 - supply sources and trade - inventory toolkits,
import and export of mercury, sunset date of hg use in
ASGM, gold trade
• Art. 7 - ASGM - with the associated Annex C on ASGM’s
NAP - global reduction target ? what kind of health
measures ?
• Art. 8 9 - Emissions and releases to land and water -
safe level standard, contamination in food chains, fish
advisory

26. THE NIP, THE NAP, AND THE GAPS..... cont.
• Art.10 - interim storage of mercury - hg imported for
ASGM, tight control, potential hotspot
• Art.12 - contaminated sites - on-going and at the
abandoned sites/water
• Art.16 - Health aspects - early detection of mercury
poisoning, treatment, biomonitoring
• Art.17 - Information exchange - lessons learned, guidance,
advisory
• Art.20 - Implementation plan - consisted of several
sectoral NAPs, local action plans

27. what’s next ?
• Declare: more than insignificant -- inventory, NIPs, NAPs
and LAPs
• Pay attentions to:
• import/export of mercury - UNCOMTRADE HS280540,
country’s import-export statistic
• gold production statistic
• biomonitoring results
• news clippings - hotspots map, database, profile
• 10 top diseases in the ASGM hotspots or neighbouring
areas
• abandoned mining sites/waters/contaminated sites

28. Thank you for your
attention